Ahh, Superhost status – the badge of honor awarded to deserving hosts by Airbnb itself. Earning this rank allows you to publicly display Airbnb’s courteous ‘tip of the hat’ to you for being such an upstanding sharing economy citizen, and it’s a gesture that is recognized and respected by the surrounding community.
Without getting into the hows and whys just yet, let’s just say that this stamp of approval undoubtedly distinguishes you as an Airbnb host who can be trusted. Of course, it takes work to earn this coveted distinction, but the payoff is well worth it. The question is, how does one acquire Superhost status and access its perks?
Good question – and you’ve come to the right place for the answer. This post will reveal how to become an Airbnb Superhost and why you should want to.
The “Hows”
Superhost status is granted according to how well you present yourself to the Airbnb community. That means staying on your guests’ good sides and applying every ounce of hospitality within you to your Airbnb presence.
1. Host away
The first step to becoming an Airbnb Superhost is to avoid being a dormant host. That being said, a minimum of 10 stays (or three stays that total at least 100 nights) over a single year is all it takes to stay in the running. Your Airbnb activity is assessed every three months, beginning in January. So if it’s December and you’ve been slacking, try to kick your hosting up a notch by January or April so that you can be best prepared for the upcoming judgment day. If you struggle with building up your host resume, don’t panic – there are several tricks you can use to encourage more bookings.
But remember to have fun with it, this kind of commitment isn’t worth your time just for the sparkly Superhost trophy at the end – it’s a culture that you’re contributing to. The badge just marks the beginning of a beautiful friendship between you and your future guests, who will trust you even more if you’ve earned it, and in turn, it can hike up those 10 minimum trips a year to 10s of hosting opportunities (maybe even hundreds).
2. Follow through
Trust is the glue that holds the Airbnb sharing economy together, and Superhost status implies you’re trustworthy. Therefore, to earn said status, it’s your obligation to make sure that you uphold your hosting etiquette from start to finish. In other words, if a guest books a vacation at your Airbnb, don’t cancel, unless you absolutely must.
Airbnb wants to know for sure that you fulfill the promises you make to the rest of your community. The community’s positive experiences with you are what build up your high hosting rank, and their inconveniences caused by cancellations and the like can just as easily damage your reputation as a host.
3. Be responsive
Good communication is key to any healthy relationship. The same applies for that between you and your guests. Hosts needs to give their guests support and attention whenever they may need it. A 90% response rate is the Airbnb Superhost floor requirement. To better understand how your response rate is calculated in your running for Superhost, you can visit this page.
This is important not only for keeping good standing with both Airbnb guests and Airbnb itself but also for your own hosting success. Those missed guest connections can cost you a booking, as every moment they’re left hanging is another moment they may find a different listing (preferably, one with a host who’s readily available for questions and requests).
The 90% minimum shouldn’t be too difficult as long as you make sure to keep an eye on your inbox. However, if this is too high of a standard given time and other commitment restrictions, there are tools you can implement to help you stay on top of communication and provide print responses to your guests. Whether you’re working full time, traveling full time, napping full time or just simply can’t get in the habit of constantly checking your Airbnb communication – software solutions like a Unified Inbox or Automation Tools can easily organize and take over your guest responses on your behalf in order to keep your guests happy and you in the running for that Superhost badge.
4. Provide a 5-Star Experience
If you do everything right in terms of availability, honesty, and hospitality – there should be no reason for you to have provided anything less than a 5-star experience… And 5-star experiences get 5-star reviews. Hosts need to maintain 5-star reviews for at least 80% of their total review count in order to qualify for Superhost status.
Don’t let this scare you; If your reviews are less than stellar, there are smart ways to handle bad reviews as well as ways to improve your performance in the future. In fact, Airbnb has blessed hosts with an amazing feature that constantly checks guest reviews to commend you for the areas you do succeed in as a host and to warn you about those areas that need a little work. Monitoring your performance will help you work on yourself as a host. And yes, progress is recognized.
5. Don’t Stress – We’ll Get You There
Yes, it may seem like a lot of responsibility to take on, but you don’t have to do it alone. Guesty can help you reach Superhost status by ensuring fast response rates, updating your calendar to prevent the need for booking cancellations and centralizing operations to help you increase both bookings and reviews.
The “Whys”
Okay, so there’s the promise of more bookings and more trust among your Airbnb peers, but there are also the guaranteed benefits of penetrating the Superhost bubble.
1. Street Cred
The most obvious benefit of becoming a Superhost is the beautiful profile badge. This is to be worn on the lapel of your Airbnb account for the whole world to see. And considering that prospective guests can filter their results to show only listings managed by Superhosts, a whole lot more of the world will indeed be looking at your listings.
2. Vacation Compensation
One of the greatest things about Airbnb is that it likes to encourage good behavior with positive reinforcement. If you maintain your Superhost status for an entire year, you will be rewarded with a $100 Travel Coupon. It’s just another way for Airbnb to incentivize hosts to boost the standards of the sharing economy.
3. Business Class Support
Superhosts get priority support when they call Airbnb because they’ve proven their dedication to the sharing society.
4. A-List Status
Being an Airbnb Superhost is beneficial not only within the community but also beyond. In short: it gets you invited to stuff. Airbnb doesn’t just give you a round of applause for your hard work, it also asks you to…hang out. Superhosts are invited to preview upcoming releases and attend exclusive events. Next up: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The “Whos”
And now, a few words from some Airbnb Superhost vets.
Superhost Shelby encourages interpersonal hospitality in order to create distinct experiences for each guest. You don’t have to be super outgoing or have the best property in the world to achieve this. Why? Because the experience you provide for your guests is not just about who you are but how well you plan. That’s why Shelby urges hosts to outline things to do during your guests’ stay that will enhance their experience – it’s your responsibility as a host to be as prepared as possible.
There are some easy steps to take in order to hike up your Airbnb persona, even if it doesn’t come naturally to you or if your property is not so well-endowed. For instance, you can take some motions towards upgrading your host output or Airbnb’ing your place. Fake it until you make it, as they say. As long as you keep your guests happy, you’re doing a good job.
This is amazing advice – it falls along the lines of the life credo “treat others the way you want to be treated,” except with looser expectations. There are actually a few different ways you can interpret this piece of advice.
For one, you can stock your Airbnb with those few items travelers tend to always forget. Another way to apply Laney & Brent’s words of wisdom is to make sure your guests feel more prepared and comfortable in your ‘hood than they normally would. If you need a hand, Guesty can play hotel concierge with that one by providing your guests with local neighborhood information and being available for any questions 24/7. Aim to create a name for yourself that encourages your future guests to expect the unexpected…in a good way.
Superhost Denise encourages you to take it one step further with your guest communication – don’t just be available, be engaged. Their first impression of you is your profile, so while it’s important to set it up in a way that exudes who you are as a host, it’s equally as important to follow through by sprinkling personality throughout the entire guest lifecycle. Delegating communication doesn’t necessarily have to cost your guests in personable correspondence. Guesty’s customer service experts will utilize data from your Airbnb inbox history and other resources that will allow us to communicate with your guests the way you would.
It’s important to learn from your peers and use their advice wisely because, well, they clearly know what they’re talking about.
Regardless of your history on Airbnb or lack there of, Superhost status is within reach. All it takes is a little more attention to your Airbnb responsibility as a host, more availability, a decent amount of hospitality, and some elbow grease. Regardless of how you get there, it’s a destination worth pursuing. Because being a Superhost would look so good on you.
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